1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connection device for connecting electrical components, for example components of an electrical drive unit of a motor vehicle, in an electrically conductive manner.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known for compact electrical drive units to be integrated in (partially) electrically driven motor vehicles, which comprise at least one electrical drive motor and a transmission directly flanged to this, as well as a power electronics system. Such a drive unit is, for example, known from DE 10 2009 040 896 A1. In this case the power electronics are arranged in immediate proximity to the drive motor, but are not fixed directly to this but to a cross-beam of the chassis of the motor vehicle. An electrical connection between the power electronics system and the drive motor can then be effected in a known manner via cables, wherein the distance to be bridged by means of the cable is very short due to the spatial proximity of the drive motor and power electronics. One advantage of the electrical connection of power electronics and drive motor by means of cables is that as a result of their flexibility these are able to compensate relative movements between these components, which occur as a result of their mutually independent attachment to the structure of the motor vehicle. However, a disadvantage of such a type of electrical connection is, in particular, the increased amount of work involved in assembly.
It would therefore be advantageous to exploit the spatial proximity between the power electronics and the drive motor in the drive unit according to DE 10 2009 040 896 A1 in order to connect these two components directly with one another electrically, in that contact elements of the power electronics make direct contact with the associated mating contact elements of the drive motor. A relative movement between the contact elements resulting from the independent attachment of the components to the structure of the motor vehicle could be compensated in that the associated contact elements of the two components can slide against one another. However, in this case the wear caused by the sliding can be problematic, since it can have a negative influence on the service life and also in particular on the operating reliability of the electrical connection.